Full Idea
The thesis of 'representational theories of consciousness' is that a creature is conscious just in case it is in a certain kind of representational state, some state which represents in a certain way.
Gist of Idea
Maybe a creature is conscious if its mental states represent things in a distinct way
Source
David Papineau (Thinking about Consciousness [2002])
Book Reference
Papineau,David: 'Thinking about Consciousness' [OUP 2004], p.221
A Reaction
[He cites Harman, Dretske and Tye] The immediate impediment I see to this view is the extreme difficulty of explaining what the special 'way' is that turns representations into consciousness. Some mental states are not representational, and vice versa.